NHL Betting at Bally Bet Sportsbook

The National Hockey League (NHL) went from six teams in 1967 to 32 teams today. Naturally, betting on the NHL has also exploded in this time. It's reported that more than a quarter of all sports bettors place bets on the NHL.

There are 1,312 regular-season NHL games, and each of them provides a huge menu of potential wagers. And that is followed up by the Stanley Cup Playoffs, one of the most exciting postseason tournaments in all of sports. With four rounds in the best-of-seven series, the Stanley Cup Playoffs last for two months, and provide hundreds of more betting opportunities.

Here at Bally Bet, we'll walk you through the process of making bets on the NHL, and give you some useful betting tips along the way.

Popular Types of NHL Bets

The range of NHL bet types is largely the same as with other sports markets and they tend to work the same way, too. Here are some of the options you can choose from:

Moneyline

This is a simple win/loss bet. Essentially, the outcome of the game decides the outcome of the wager. This type of bet is available for all NHL games, and it's easily the most popular with bettors, owing to its simplicity.

For example: If you make a moneyline bet on the Chicago Blackhawks beating the Detroit Red Wings and the Blackhawks win, you'll win your bet.

Puck Line

The puck line is hockey's take on a point spread, which is frequently used in basketball and football wagers. Because the NHL is generally a lower-scoring sport when compared to basketball and football, the puck line is almost always set at 1.5 goals. The favorite will have a minus sign (-) in front of the 1.5, and the underdog will have a plus sign (+) in front of the 1.5.

This means that the favorite has to win by at least two goals to win the bet. In contrast, for the underdog to win the bet, they either need to win the game, or lose by only one goal.

For example: If the Buffalo Sabres are -1.5 on the puck line and you pick them against the New York Rangers, and they win 5-3, you win your bet. However, if they only win 4-3, your bet loses, and bettors who took out puck line wagers on the Rangers will instead win that bet.

Over/Under

Also known as a totals bet, this is a wager on the total number of goals scored in an NHL game by both teams. Sportsbooks set a line, usually between 5.5 and 6.5 goals, and you place your bet on whether the total goals scored will go over or under that line.

For example: Using the above game between the Sabres and Rangers, if you bet over 6.5 goals and the final score ends up being 4-3, your bet would win because the seven total goals scored were over the line. However, if the final score was 4-2, the over would lose, and the under bet would be the winner.

60-Minute Line

The 60-minute line in NHL betting, sometimes called a "regular time" bet, is like a moneyline, but without overtime. The winner of the bet will be determined after three periods of play, even if there's an overtime period. Because games can be tied after 60 minutes, this is a three-way betting market. You can bet on the home team to win or the away team to win, or that that the score will be tied.

For example: If the Anaheim Ducks are at the Montreal Canadiens, you might get these odds: Ducks (+190), Canadiens (+110), and Tie (+330). A regular moneyline only settles when the game is completed, which will never end in a tie. But this type of bet settles at 60 minutes when ties are a regular occurrence.

Props

Prop bets are broken down into two categories, player props and team props. These are bets on events that take place during the game and often aren't tied to the outcome of the game.

For example: Betting on the Colorado Avalanche to score the first goal of a game is a team prop, and the final score doesn't matter in determining a winning or losing bet. Only the first goal of the game matters. If you bet on Avs star Nathan MacKinnon to score a goal, that's a player prop. Like with the team prop, the final score doesn't matter for the player prop.

Parlays

Parlays are a series of bets that you combine into one large bet with the hopes of a bigger payout.

You can create parlays with multiple bets on a single game, or several bets across multiple games. The upside is that the more bets added to your parlay, the bigger the potential win. The downside is that each of your individual bets has to win, otherwise the entire parlay loses.

For example: You combine the moneyline on the Ducks, Golden Knights, Kings, and Islanders, into a four-leg parlay. The Ducks, Kings, and Islanders all win, but the Golden Knights lose, so the whole parlay loses. Had the Golden Knights won, you would have walked away with exponential winnings, based on the posted moneyline odds.

Futures

As the name suggests, these are bets that are placed on future NHL events. You can bet on the conference winner, the winner of the Stanley Cup, or the future winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy, which is given to the MVP of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

For example: When the puck dropped in the 2018-19 season, the St. Louis Blues were paying +3000 to win the Stanley Cup. By the middle of the season, there were odds of +6000 on the Blues winning the Cup. By the time they were clutching the Stanley Cup following a game seven win over the Boston Bruins, their odds were down to +120.

Live Betting

As legal sports betting has expanded across the country, and as technology has improved, live betting has become one of the most popular ways to wager on the NHL. Also known as in-game or in-play betting, live betting consists of odds and betting options that change in real-time as the game plays out.

You can place regular moneyline wagers at any point during the game, with odds that reflect the current score. You can also place wagers on events inside the game. For example: The Dallas Stars are on the power play, and you can wager on whether they will score a goal or not.

Live NHL betting is the perfect way to wager on the sport if you don't like the pregame odds. Just wait for the game to start, and those odds will change.

NHL Betting Tips

There are no foolproof NHL betting strategies, but there are certainly ways that might help swing the odds in your favor.

Check current forms

It's a long season. Each team plays 82 games from October to April, and during that season there are inevitable ups and downs. Sometimes a team will be hot, and other times the team will be cold. And this is true for every team, no matter how good their general reputations are.

Make sure you look at each team's current form before placing any bets. NHL standings come with Last 10 and Current Streak sections. At a bare minimum, take a look at these before deciding which teams you want to wager on.

This is also true if you're thinking about prop bets on individual players. Their current form should be used to inform your bets.

Consult the injury reports

Watch out for the players and teams that appear to be lagging. Players get beat up during a hockey game. And if a team is playing for a third night in five days during a long road trip far away from home, you can be sure the players on that team are tired. Naturally, both teams might be fatigued, but often you can find one team that's better rested and equipped than the other.

Also, players are sometimes rested during the season. Alternatively, they can be out on the sidelines due to injury or returning following a successful recovery from an injury. Lineups change from game to game because of injuries and rest, and you don't want to wager on a team that's taking the ice without its star player.

Keep an eye on the goalies

No single player can swing a team's fortunes like a good goaltender.

If a goalie is hot, he's likely to stay hot. A goaltender in the middle of a good streak is worth his weight in gold. The same can also be said for knowing when a goalie is resting. Even the best goaltenders in the league need nights off, and you need to be sure that you don't accidentally bet on a hot goalie who's going to spend the night on the bench.

In summary, when a team has a good goalie, they're ultimately stronger as a unit and more likely to keep competitors on their toes. Be sure to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the goaltender before placing any wagers.

NHL Betting vs. NCAA Hockey Betting

College hockey in the United States and Canada has great players, great teams, and some great betting markets. But you'll find far fewer wagering options than you will with the NHL. Information is also slightly harder to come by for a lot of college hockey teams, so there's a good chance you'll be less informed when you place your bets.

NHL Betting vs. National Team Betting

Betting on the Ice Hockey World Championships, as well as the Olympic ice hockey tournament, can be great fun. Who doesn't like to place a bet on the Red, White, and Blue? But because the players on the national teams around the world don't play nearly as many games together as they do with their professional clubs, their performances can be more uneven and subsequently difficult to track.

That often makes these games less predictable, especially when you couple that with trying to find out information on the many players on the Swedish National Team who don't play in the NHL.